PSU Vet- PGC Needs to Issue Bans

[galthatfishes]

Veterinarian: State should consider deer-feeding ban to combat CWD
Monday, October 15, 2012

As the disease progresses, infected animals appear to be in poor body condition and some become emaciated.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- On the heels of finding chronic wasting disease in a Pennsylvania deer, it's time for the state's game commissioners to consider a ban on deer feeding, according to a veterinarian in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

It actually is past time, noted David Wolfgang, extension veterinarian and field studies director in veterinary and biomedical sciences.

"The commissioners should follow the advice they have been given by a variety of deer experts, including the agency's own wildlife veterinarian, and stop the feeding of deer," he said. "When we feed deer, we congregate the animals, and that dramatically increases the potential that diseases, such as chronic wasting disease (CWD), will spread among them. There is no disagreement about that."

The Board of Game Commissioners in the past has outlawed the feeding of bears and elk in the state, so there is precedent for banning the feeding of deer, Wolfgang pointed out. "It would be wise for them to go ahead now and do the right thing for the wildlife of Pennsylvania," he said.

Wolfgang represents Penn State on the state's Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force, which also includes representatives from the Game Commission and the state departments of agriculture and health. He is most concerned about another practice that game commissioners could stop: the placing of salt or mineral blocks for deer.

"Where salt licks or mineral blocks are put out, obviously deer congregate, and that is bad enough," Wolfgang explained. "But what's worse is that after being exposed to rain and snow, the minerals leach into the surrounding ground, and then for years deer bite and chew at the dirt.

"If a CWD-infected deer would visit the mineral lick, prions that spread the disease likely would get into the soil from its urine and feces. The last thing we want is for deer to be eating dirt in areas where deer have congregated."

Wolfgang, who is a past president of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, also is worried about the wide use of deer urine by bowhunters as a lure or attractant. He suggested that game commissioners consider banning that practice in Pennsylvania, as well.

Doe urine, collected at deer farms across the country, is packaged commercially and sold to help archers draw into arrow-shooting range the mature bucks they seek.

"Some scientists now wonder if the wide distribution of doe urine might be partly responsible for the spread of CWD from the West to the East," he said.

"Doe urine from deer in other states should not be introduced into Pennsylvania soils. Even the small risk that the purchased doe urine might contain CWD-causing prions should discourage responsible hunters from using it."

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in early October confirmed the first positive case of chronic wasting disease in the state on a deer farm in Adams County. The 3-year-old doe was born at a deer farm in Lycoming County and had lived at a deer farm in York County as well. Subsequently the state quarantined all three locations.

Agriculture Department officials are now trying to determine whether other captive deer at those facilities were infected, and if CWD might have been passed onto wild deer in those areas.

The disease attacks the brains of infected deer, elk and moose, producing small lesions that eventually result in death. It is transmitted by direct animal-to-animal contact through saliva, feces and urine.

Infected animals may not show signs of the disease in the early stages, which can last for years. However, as the disease progresses, infected animals begin to lose body functions and display abnormal behaviors, such as staggering or failing to respond to threats, such as the approach of humans or predators. Animals may stand with legs spread far apart, carry their head and ears lowered, and often drool excessively.

Infected animals appear to be in poor body condition and some become emaciated. Infected animals are often found near water and drink large quantities. However, these symptoms are characteristic of diseases other than CWD and that is why the diagnosis comes only after death. The only certified test for CWD requires killing an animal and examining its brainstem.

CWD first was discovered in Colorado among captive mule deer in 1967 and since has been detected in 22 states and Canadian provinces, including Pennsylvania's neighboring states of New York, West Virginia and Maryland. Pennsylvania is the 23rd state to find CWD in either a captive or wild deer population and the 13th state to have it only in a captive deer herd.

Although chronic wasting disease is fatal in deer, elk and moose, there is no evidence that it can be transmitted to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.

[galthatfishes]

Thanks Tim Smail, for sending this to me.

[ridgecommander]

And if this a huge problem, what are we doing to address this on a comprehensive level? Salt and mineral blocks are in almost every pasture and deer feed is in many residential back yards. Both of those contribute more to the stated problem than everything that hunters put out there. Heck hunting over bait and mineral is not even legal here, unlike other states.

Again, hunters being a fraction of the contributors but will be bearing the most weight it seems.

[galthatfishes]

The vet recommended a ban on ALL feeding, not just feeding by hunters. The PGC has the ability, I believe, to do that since they already do it with bears.

The only place he targets hunters is where he talks abour urine based lures that I can see?

[ridgecommander]

I would love to see a bill introduced that bans the residents of this commonwealth from placing any substance that could cause deer to congregate. Bird feeders, cracked corn and sunflower seeds included. I wonder how well that would go over.

Makes sense right? According to all the recent buzz about feeding deer. Hey, if we are going to be serious here, lets take it to the top and include everyone.

[ridgecommander]

Oct 23, 2012 7:13:14 GMT -5 galthatfishes said:

The vet recommended a ban on ALL feeding, not just feeding by hunters. The PGC has the ability, I believe, to do that since they already do it with bears.

Maybe they PGC can, but any ban would have to be pretty darn specific on what constitutes "deer feed". The strong arguement can be made that bird feeders are more attractive than a mineral block just about year round except the late spring and early summer. It would be almost impossible to implement a true comprehensive ban without targeting hunters becuase the non hunting public would not stand for it, IMO.

[galthatfishes]

As I said before, when there was a bear running around Dauphin PA, I knew whose yards the bear was going into after bird feeders. I let the WCO know. He went to those homes, and told the non-hunting publc to take their feeders down, or a ticket would be issued.

The first thing that has to happen is to have the ban issued. The second thing is HUNTERS have to police the non-hunters and hunters alike. Word will get out soon enough.

[ridgecommander]

For the record. I never have used marketed bait or corn for trial cameras. I have used some apples from my tree at times and I do not use urine based lures while hunting. Some may feel that my responses are because I wish to continue using bait or attractants.

And, Gal, you know as well as I do that the scenario you laid out of a entire state free of bird feeders ain't gonna happen. It will be hunters and the hunting industry that will carry this weight.

It will be good for the QDMA though as maybe those targeted hunters will want to invest in "natural" bait that congregates deer as "un-natural" bait that contains the same stuff will be illegal. Not meant as a dig at you, BTW. Just pointing out that this issue has many dynamics to it that can be overlooked in this discussion.

[galthatfishes]

Yes, food plots also concentrate deer to a certain extent, but not like a bait station where an effortless meal is readily available. In some areas, deer from miles around often leave well-managed habitat to gather in close to the bait stations.

Deer that use food plots for the most part; however; are local deer that hang together in a general area to begin with. The average hunter isn't planting acres of corn and drawing deer from everywhere.

Would you suggest we stop agriculture because deer love corn and are likely to come from a large surrounding area to planted corn or beans? (I know ya wouldn't- just sayin')

[galthatfishes]

The below is an excerpt for the publication, "A Comprehensive Review of the Ecological and Human Social Effects of Artificial Feeding and Baiting of Wildlife." This is an extremely comprehensive look at research involving the pros and cons found in peer-reviewed scientific research on supplimental feeding and baiting.

From the publication:

The provision of food to wildlife has been implicated widely as a causative factor that increases the occurrence of infectious and non-infectious disease. Animals are attracted to artificial sources of feed in higher density than normally occurs under natural conditions (Thorne and Herriges, 1992; Williams et al., 1993; Fischer et al., 1997). As animal density increases, competition for food also increases resulting in more frequent contact among individuals (Baker and Hobbs, 1985; Schmitt et al., 1997). Contact can be direct through physical contact, or indirect as occurs when two animals share the same portion of food. If one or more animals are harboring an infectious organism or prion, its transmission to uninfected individuals is facilitated by the increased frequency of contact among animals congregating at the feeding site (Miller et al., 1998; Michigan Bovine TB Eradication Project, 2002). It is also suggested stress from crowding reduces immunocompetence in some animals, increasing the likelihood of disease (Smith and Roffe, 1992; Smith, 2001). Disease can affect individual animals, populations, or communities. Depending on the nature of the disease and the feeding location, disease can be transmitted within or between species (Schmitt et al., 1997; Smith, 2001), between wildlife and domestic animals (Thorne and Herriges, 1992), or even between wildlife and humans (Rupprecht et al., 1995). Non-infectious disease also can occur when wild species are fed foods incompatible with their digestive function (Wobeser and Runge, 1975), foods of poor nutritional quality (Ohio Wildlife Center, 2000),or spoiled foods that have become toxic (Perkins, 1991; Davis, 1996; Breed, 2002).

Specific examples of disease occurrence attributed to artificial feeding or baiting include:

1. Bovine tuberculosis in wild cervids – In 1994, bovine tuberculosis (TB) was detected in a population of white-tailed deer in an area of Michigan where there were no infected livestock or bison to serve as a reservoir (Schmitt et al., 1997). Focal sources of concentrated feed and high densities of deer were determined to be the factors maintaining this disease and increasing its prevalence. High concentrations of deer around feeding and baiting sites facilitate disease transmission through increased animal-to-animal contact and possibly through contamination of feed (Palmer et al., 2001; Schmitt et al., 2002). Bovine TB also has been detected in wild mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in Montana (Rhyan et al., 1995). However, in contrast to deer in Michigan, infection of deer in Montana appears to have occurred as a result of contact between wild deer and infected livestock. In 1998, a bovine TB surveillance program was established in west-central Manitoba following detection of the disease in wild elk within and around Riding Mountain National Park. High densities of elk around bait sites and hay bales or standing crops on agricultural lands adjacent to the park coupled with increased interaction between elk and livestock are believed to play a role in maintaining the disease in cattle and elk from this area (Parks Canada Agency, 2001b). In Michigan, a variety of environmental and farm management factors have been identified to be associated with increased risk of bovine TB on cattle farms including higher TB prevalence among wild deer and cattle farms in the area, herd size, and ponds or creeks in cattle housing areas (Kaneene et al., 2002).

2. Chronic wasting disease in deer – In Fort Collins, Colorado, artificial feeding by private citizens is believed to have contributed to the infection of 49 free-ranging cervids with chronic wasting disease (CWD) (Spraker et al., 1997). Experimental and circumstantial evidence suggests infected animals probably transmit the disease through animal-to-animal contact, and through contamination of food or water sources with body fluids (saliva, urine) and feces (Williams and Young, 1980; Miller et al., 1998). Further, conditions of high animal density or confinement can create conditions where transmission of CWD occurs at a faster rate than under natural conditions (Fig. 6) (Miller et al., 2000). Several government agencies in Canada and the United States (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 2002; Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2002; New York Department of Environmental Conservation, 2003) have recently changed their regulations regarding artificial feeding and baiting in an effort to prevent or reduce infection of wild cervids with CWD.

3. Bovine brucellosis in elk and bison – In the western United States, brucellosis in wildlife of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is an issue of national importance to the National Park Service as well as other federal and state agencies. At issue is the risk of transmission of brucellosis from wildlife to domestic animals (Cheville et al. 1998; Smith, 2001), the health and welfare of wildlife under National Park Service stewardship, and management of federal lands. Brucellosis in elk in the ecosystem is enhanced as a direct result of management actions that cause dense winter aggregations of elk on feeding-grounds (Thorne and Herriges 1992; Williams et al., 1993; Smith, 2001). The disease, however, is not found among free-ranging elk herds subsisting on natural forage because the route of transmission requires contact with reproductive products. The feeding-grounds of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem include the National Elk Refuge and 22 sites in Wyoming. Together, these sites are home to an estimated 22-25,000 elk. Once introduced to bison (Bison bison) the disease is maintained via their naturally gregarious behavior.

4. Carbohydrate overload in wild ruminants – Wild ruminants can die from feeding on highly digestible, low-fiber feed (Wobeser and Runge, 1975). Ruminants need to change their diet of roughage to grain slowly to give the bacteria in their gut a chance to adjust to changes in feed type. Otherwise, rapid exposure to a concentrated grain diet will often cause a fatal disruption of the body’s acid-base balance. Animals that survive the immediate effects of “carbohydrate overload” often die in the days or weeks that follow due to secondary complications of the disease. A variety of feeds can cause carbohydrate overload (also called grain overload, lactic acidosis, or enterotoxemia), including grains, lentils, bread, and corn. In Saskatchewan from 1995 to 2001, two to four wild deer submitted each year to the diagnostic pathology service of the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre were diagnosed as dying of carbohydrate overload. Given the small likelihood of finding a wild animal that is either dying of or has recently died of carbohydrate overload, it is likely a considerably larger number of wild deer that succumb to this disease go undetected.

5. Psoroptic mange in elk – Elk at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming have survived on artificial feeding during the winter months for approximately 90 years. Each year, 20-30 adult male elk die from psoroptic mange (Samuel et al., 1991; Smith, 2001). Infected elk have also served as a reservoir for infection of a sympatric population of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis).

6. Demodectic mange in white-tailed deer – White-tailed deer receiving artificial feed in Maine have suffered from outbreaks of demodectic mange caused by the spread of mites while at feeding stations (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, 2002).

7. Starvation of white-tailed deer – Winter feeding of white-tailed deer can lead to starvation of some individuals if the feeding delays the migration of deer to their winter yards, or if artificial; feeding is terminated abruptly (Ozoga and Verme, 1982).

8. Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis in house finches – Since 1994, mycoplasmal conjunctivitis has been found in a variety of bird-feeder type birds, especially house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus). In the past 8 years, the disease has spread westward from the eastern United States (Fischer et al., 1997; Hartup, 1998). Although it is not fully understood how the disease is transmitted among house finches, artificial feeding is suspected to facilitate transmission (Fischer et al., 1997; Hartup et al., 1998). The use of tube feeders that offer few perches increases contact among birds. Further, seed contaminated by the infectious organism Mycoplasma gallisepticum is protected from moisture within the tube feeders.

9. Salmonellosis in passerine birds – Outbreaks of salmonellosis in Michigan occur mostly in passerine birds concentrated around feeders during winter. (Michigan Department of Natural Resources, 2001). The disease is transmitted directly through ingestion of feed contaminated with feces containing the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium.

10. Nutritional deficiencies in fed birds – Many people feed wild birds, including waterfowl, to supplement their diet. However, birds maintained on artificial feed are frequently submitted to wildlife rehabilitation centers as a result of severe nutritional deficiencies and metabolic bone disease (Ohio Wildlife Center, 2000).

[ridgecommander]

Oct 23, 2012 8:30:23 GMT -5 galthatfishes said:

Would you suggest we stop agriculture because deer love corn and are likely to come from a large surrounding area to planted corn or beans? (I know ya wouldn't- just sayin')

I am not suggesting that as you correctly assert. Just pointing out another facet to this very complex and dynamic issue. This talk of banning the feeding of deer is too easy. It makes it appear that something is being done when its effectiveness is questionable at best on a statewide free range situation.

The other points to the CWD plan are essential, no doubt. My issue here is with this one point of the plan and the harm that will come to a certain populous.

If the state or the PGC wants to do this, make it across the board and include all potential deer congregates that are not agricultural in nature. That won't happen though as the citizens won't stand for that when the details are disclosed. It is my opinion that those details will be omitted thus targeted us, hunters.

I would ask that if QDMA makes a run at this, either to the PGC or our legislature, that the language be comprehensive and specific in nature, with specific examples in place. I will support no less than that.

[ridgecommander]

When I said I will support no less than that, I would also add that I will oppose it as well if the wording is not comprehensive in nature directed at every citizen of this commonwealth.

[Deleted]

It is becoming increasingly obvious to me that this is issue is amazingly complex.

As a 5 minute timeout and bit of brevity, here's an article about using a "different" type of lure at your trail cam locations:

themeateater.com/2012/buckman-juice/

I'm planning to do this at my deer spot soon... or not?! I didn't end up doing it the public land I scouted for a few days with the cams. Thoughts?

[galthatfishes]

LOL. I pee in scrapes, and will scrape myself near a licking branch when nature calls, and quite often deer begin to use the spot. Of course, I can't pee on the licking branch, but you guys have fun with that! LOL!

[Deleted]

We need to stop those darn deer from grooming each other dozens of times a day, pooping and peeing where they eat and others can walk through it, fighting and rubbing antlers, using community rubs and scrapes, suckling their mothers, browsing on the same branches and such when there is no corn left in a field. We need to cut all those licking branches, (wear gloves for this procedure), and very last ---- stop that nasty old breeding habit!

I have serious concerns about a panic response that is virtually worthless and ineffective except to upset people, (farmers, gardeners, old ladies, bird watchers etc), by putting irrational demands on them.

But it'll be a feel good move for those who are totally oblivious to the fact that "ALL" deer in a particular range come in contact with all other deer in that range almost daily.

"Congregate?" Yes, I agree that feeding in piles, buckets or trough feeders definitely causes nose-to-nose contact and those methods should never be used.
However, deer live by smelling and touching. They also walk the same trails, graze the same alfalfa, and they'll defecate and urinate without a structured plan to avoid putting it where the next guy eats. They especially browse on field and wood edges on the same plants and, as natural food sources go dormant, multiple deer will browse on the very same plants day-after-day.

It's not possible to demand that people fence every garden --- it's more on the side of ridiculous. Hostas are the big attraction for deer in my yard.
I feed birds, but have never seen a deer come on the porch, (seen bears do that), and I'll be danged if I'd ever consider not feeding birds.

I see and watch deer each and every day of the year. Their routine is so predictable in crossing my meadow on the same path and browsing as they leave and enter the woods on the same shrubs.
I've watch bucks groom each other for 20 minutes and does and fawns, (not necessarily always immediate family members) groom each other multiple times while grazing in the meadow or yard.

Oh well, it'll go political and they'll be a panic for sure.

[ridgecommander]

Oct 24, 2012 6:24:48 GMT -5 bowbum said:

I have serious concerns about a panic response that is virtually worthless and ineffective except to upset people, (farmers, gardeners, old ladies, bird watchers etc), by putting irrational demands on them.

I totally agree, Bow, and that is the point I have been trying to drive home. Deer will congregate and share fluids with each other no matter what "ban" on feeding is in place.

I am against any ban on "deer feeding", and if one is proposed, it should surely affect all people that knowingly of unknowlingly feed deer and not just target hunters and the hunting industry. When that word gets out, it would fail under pressure from non hunters, go figure.

[Deleted]

While what is being said about feeding and mineral supplements has merit, we are losing sight of what caused this problem in the first place, that being captive deer herds and frequent and unregulated transfers of deer all over the country. Please try to keep that fact firmly in mind.

The barn door is open, the horse has been stolen, and we will have CWD in our wild deer population in PA. Locking the barn door now will be a "too little, too late" sort of thing. Nothing much can be done about that, IMO. We hunters, just like those in Wisconsin, will resist most measures to contain it that might include fewer deer being around for us to hunt, and many will bury their heads in the sand, denying that there actually is a problem. Color me cynical, and also very sad about the whole thing. It could have been prevented ten years ago, but it is probably too late now.

[Dutch]

Mutt, in part, I agree with Ridge. Hunters will take it on the chin, just as they did in Wisconsin, BUT, the agencies made huge mistakes out there that caused them to lose the confidence of the hunters.

Our PGC is already on the ropes, so, lets not over react and cause more problems than are needed.

Concentrate on the disease area and nothing more. Don't go making knee jerk STATEWIDE regs that only piss people off, for no reason.

Learn from the mistakes of other states, and apply what was learned from those mistakes to PA.

[galthatfishes]

Where is the press release saying PDA needs to issue bans? Why JUST the PGC?

Its the silence on their (PDA) part that will create a panic and outrage; I'm afraid.

With Game having had their fingers smacked; starting with Act 51 of 2006 that removed deer farming from the agency and placing it with Ag, then to the IRRC bills, and the license fee decrease bill; I can certainly understand why they are "deferring" to Ag on this one.

Yet, PDA is tossing several aspects of this right at the PGC. One such example is the exchange where Ag says (and I paraphrase here) in response to my request for a temporary moratorium on the sale and use of lures.

Ag seemingly ignored that I asked for a "sales" ban and went at it strictly from a "use" perspective.

From my vantage point; it would seem prudent to temporarily restrict such things until they at least know how many farms were involved to safeguard not only OUR wild deer herd, but deer herds where ever those lures have been sold.

I had a discussion with someone yesterday who told me a co-worker of theirs has a hobby type deer farm. They called the PDA as their doe is hot or getting there, and he requested a list of farms expected to be placed under the quarantine. PDA declined to give that info to the deer farmer. All the guy wanted to do was get his doe bred at a "safer" facility.

Ag can't share that with deer farmers?

I've YET to see a list of recommendations from PDA go out to the 1100 farms across PA while they sort this mess out. The PGC, on the other hand; is sending 47,000 letters to individual hunters in the area and will be testing 1800 to 2200 individual hunter killed deer in that zone- all on the back of the hunting community.

Right now,its my opinion that PDA needs to do more in the way of disseminating information to both deer farmers and the public in general with regard to BMP's (best management practices) for this current deer breeding season; place temporary restrictive measures on the industry as a whole until the trace back is concluded; and issue an executive order with the cooperation of the PGC that hunters should kill any deer with a visible ear tag provided a safe shot presents itself.

This is the rut and an educated hunting community can help. Many bow hunters will more or less ignore an antlerless deer if they are waiting for a buck. An educated hunter will pick up his binoculars, look at the deer ear to see if there is a tag, and take the shot if it presents.

If it doesn't present; they can notify the agencies involved as to the general location of the deer.

A hunter that is uninformed will not bother.

There are many other details that can be sorted later.

[dennyf]

And the PRIMARY problem at the moment, is that NO general information is being put out by AG, let alone any relevant and helpful details.

[Deleted]

I suppose hunting related stuff should be through the PGC and farming related, as in; "deer farming" should be AG.
Don't know who is doing what at this point, but I sure hope there is a calculated reaction --- which should already have been planned long ago.

[dennyf]

Oh, they've had plans. We are just confused about the implementation part at the moment.

[galthatfishes]

More:

live.psu.edu/story/62294#email

Expert: Hunters taking Lycoming deer should have them tested for CWD
Friday, October 26, 2012

Animals infected with chronic wasting disease may not show signs of the disease in the early stages, which can last for years.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The three-year-old doe that recently was found to be Pennsylvania's first case of chronic wasting disease was born on a deer farm near Williamsport, Pa.

But Lycoming County is not within the disease management area set up by the state, and hunters who kill deer there this fall and are concerned about the health of animals they harvest should consider having them tested for CWD, according to a veterinarian in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

"We hope the disease has not crossed over into the wild deer herd in Lycoming County or any other part of the state," said David Wolfgang, extension veterinarian and field studies director in veterinary and biomedical sciences. "Testing deer is the only way we can be sure, and it's the only way hunters can be certain the deer they killed and will eat is not infected by CWD."

The state Game Commission has set up a disease management area that encompasses Adams County -- where the deer with CWD was discovered on a deer farm -- and York County, where it stayed on two deer farms after leaving Lycoming and before coming to Adams. In that zone, during the firearms deer season Nov. 26 to Dec. 8, hunters must take all deer harvested to a check station, where tissue samples will be extracted to be tested for the deer-killing disease.

From now until the end of the statewide archery season that closes Nov. 12, hunters who harvest deer in that 600-square-mile disease management area are strongly encouraged to take their deer to the check station so that they can be tested for CWD.

The Game Commission will cover the costs of CWD tests done on deer taken in the disease management area. But there is no subsidy to defray testing costs in Lycoming County, where there is no check station and no disease management area. And that has Wolfgang, who represents Penn State on the state's Chronic Wasting Disease Task Force, concerned.

"We are betting that the doe was infected by CWD at one of the deer farms in York or Adams counties where it stayed," Wolfgang said. "That seems most likely. But we aren't really sure, and there have been cases in which fawns got CWD from infected mothers. I am hopeful hunters will provide additional surveillance by testing deer they harvest in the greater Lycoming County area."

Hunters who take deer outside the disease management area can get their deer tested for CWD by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Veterinary Laboratory, for a fee of $75. Information about submitting a deer for testing can be found on the lab's website, www.padls.org, or by calling by calling 717-787-8808.

"According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans, but if I harvested a deer near Williamsport, I would want to be sure it was disease free," he said. "I suggest hunters there debone their meat, have the CWD test done, and then process the meat or have it processed after the test comes back negative.

"That's what hunters will be doing in the disease management area around Adams and York counties."

State Agriculture Department officials still are trying to determine whether other captive deer at the four deer farms that housed the CWD-infected animal also were infected, and if CWD might have been passed to wild deer in those areas. The epidemiological investigation is complicated because ag officials are attempting to trace the whereabouts and fates of more than a dozen animals.

Chronic wasting disease attacks the brains of infected deer, elk and moose, producing small lesions that eventually result in death. It is transmitted by direct animal-to-animal contact through saliva, feces and urine

Infected animals may not show signs of the disease in the early stages, which can last for years. However, as the disease progresses, infected animals begin to lose body functions and display abnormal behaviors, such as staggering or failing to respond to threats, such as the approach of humans or predators. Animals may stand with legs spread far apart, carry their head and ears lowered, and drool excessively.

Infected animals appear to be in poor body condition, and some become emaciated. They often are found near water and drink large quantities. However, these symptoms are characteristic of diseases other than CWD, and that is why the diagnosis comes only after death.

The only certified test for CWD requires killing an animal and examining its brainstem.

CWD first was discovered in Colorado captive mule deer in 1967 and since has been detected in 22 states and Canadian provinces, including Pennsylvania's neighboring states of New York, West Virginia and Maryland. Pennsylvania is the 23rd state to find CWD in either a captive or wild deer population and the 13th state to have it only in a captive deer herd.

To keep abreast of the latest news concerning the chronic wasting disease outbreak, Wolfgang recommended that hunters check the Pennsylvania Game Commission website (http://www.pgc.state.pa.us) and the state Department of Agriculture website (http://www.agriculture.state.pa.us). They will be updated as new information becomes available.

[neville]

www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2835152&gonew=1#UNREAD

[dennyf]

Interesting post, predictable comments.